Stylized and ornamental designs for the handles of utensils and personal grooming aids have remained popular over the years. When these utensils and grooming aids, such as toothbrushes and combs, are intended for small children they often include a decorative or toy-like structure. This structure is desirable since it entertains the child and prompts it to develop favorable associations with the object. In this manner, the child becomes more familiar with the object and is more likely to use it on a regular basis.
In the past, utensils and toothbrushes have included small figurehead designs upon a small portion of the handle or brushhead. While these designs may have entertained the child, they also increased the child's risk of injury. The utensils and their decorative ornamentation often included small shapes that could break off and be swallowed causing choking. The decorative shape, as a whole, may also attract a child to swallow the brush. Since the designs were somewhat small, the child could easily choke upon the brush. Finally, many of the designs, while small enough to become lodged in a child's throat, were too large to fit through a conventional brush holder. Thus, the unsupported brushhead would be prone to contact an unsanitary countertop or similar flat surface, causing soiling of the utensil and/or brushhead.